Charlotte County warns of possible door-knocking scam artist

Charlotte County officials are warning the community about a possible scam artist who is posing as a county employee.

The concern is that he may be trying to get into people's homes. He's offering services that Charlotte County doesn't.

A stranger stopped by Wayne Wankel's house on Cambridge Drive a few nights ago.

"He said he was working in step with the county," Wankel said.

He then asked Wankel if he needed help replacing any windows or his roof. The answer was no.

A Charlotte County report said the mysterious man drove along the street, asking others the same question. Not one person said yes.

"Our concern is that there's people out scamming because there are a lot of older folks in the neighborhood, including myself," said Jenny Clark, another Cambridge Drive resident. "But we have a very active neighborhood watch in the neighborhood."

County officials believe whoever that man was could be trying to scam people. because legitimate county employees don't do that kind of work.

"Typically we'd go door to door to notify people of a sewer repair, or water main repair, or some type of future work that may come," said Brian Gleason, Charlotte County public information officer, said. "We put door hangers up. But we'd never go door to door to provide home services."

It's easy to tell if someone is a Charlotte County employee on the street. All of them who work in the field drive vehicles with the county logo on it.

"I think maybe the guy is trying to get his way into houses and maybe case them out," Wankel said. "You know, if he's not legitimate, he's definitely up to something."

Witnesses describe the man as clean cut, tall, slender, with red-blonde hair. He was seen wearing a neon yellow vest and drove a white Dodge Ram truck.